* * *
The next day, Emma stood at the door greeting her students as they walked into the classroom. Looking over, she saw Adam and Hannah coming up the walkway holding hands. It was evident that they had not washed, nor combed their hair that morning.
“Do you children have a lunch for today?” Emma asked, noticing neither of them were carrying a lunch box.
“My mamm didn’t have a chance to go to the store, so we don’t have food,” Adam answered.
The morning lessons went fast, but all Emma could think about was the fact that Adam and Hannah had nothing to eat. At lunch time, all the children ran to get their lunch boxes except Adam and Hannah. After the class said their thanks to Gott, Emma took out her lunch and divided it in two. She had brought a sandwich, some vegetables, and a big piece of chocolate cake that her mamm had made the night before. She brought each child half of her lunch. She would do without today. She couldn’t understand how a mother could allow her children to go to school like that. Hannah looked up at Emma as she placed the napkin on her desk with the food.
“Thank you, Hannah said shyly, then proceeded to eat the sandwich as if she had not eaten in a while.
What on earth is going on at their home? I don’t think these children have eaten in a while, Emma thought. I will make sure to bring extra from now on.
* * *
For the rest of the week, Emma made sure she made two extra sandwiches and desserts so Adam and Hannah would at least have a good lunch. Some days they would come to school and look like they had washed but for the most part they definitely looked neglected.
On Friday, Emma was sitting in the school yard watching the children play at recess, when she saw Adam and Hannah standing off to the side of the school yard. She noticed that neither of them had shoes on. She hadn’t noticed that they were shoeless when they first got to school in the morning. She went over to the two and bent down in front of them. “Adam, Hannah, where are your shoes?” she asked calmly.
Hannah looked at her brother in fear. Adam put his head down and said, “we couldn’t find them this morning and we were going to be late, so we left without them.”
“So you both walked to school with no shoes on?” Emma said, very concerned.
Both nodding their heads, they continued to look down in shame. Hannah started to cry. “Ach, my dear child,” Emma said, hugging her. “I will drive you two home tonight so you don’t have to walk.” Emma would have to meet their mother. Something just wasn’t right and she was going to find out what it was.
* * *
Chapter 4
Emma turned into the lane where Adam and Hannah lived. She couldn’t help but notice the house was in a very bad state of disrepair, and the grass was overgrown and the flower beds were filled with weeds. After helping the two out of the buggy, Emma walked up the rickety steps leading to the front door. She followed the children inside and gasped at the state of the house. A thick layer of dust covered the table in the front hall and clothes were strewn all over the living room.
“Mamm, we’re home!” Adam yelled, walking into the kitchen. Emma followed him into the kitchen and looked around the room. Dishes littered the table and counter space. She went over to a pot on the stove, lifted up the cover and peered inside. It contained the remnants of a homemade stew that looked to be a couple days old.
“Adam, is this what you have been eating?”
“Jah. Mamm said it should still be good.”
Hannah came back in the kitchen and looked at her brother. “Mamm is sleeping, Adam. I can’t wake her up.”
“Hannah, where is your mamm?” Emma asked, growing even more concerned.
“Upstairs in her bed. She won’t wake up,” Hannah said with tears forming in her eyes.
“Will you show me?” Emma asked, holding out her hand for Hannah to take.
Hannah brought her upstairs into the bedroom. Lying in bed, was a frail looking woman. Emma went over to her and breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered that their mother was indeed sleeping. Feeling her forehead, Emma discovered she had a fever and there was definitely evidence that she had been in bed for a while and that she was very ill.
“Hannah, how long has your mamm been like this?”
“About two weeks,” Hannah answered, climbing up on the bed to sit beside her mother.
“Where is your daed?”
“He died.”
Hearing those words, Emma’s heart broke for the children. She couldn’t leave them tonight, not in this condition. There was no food in the house except for the old stew on the stove. She brought the children back downstairs. “We’re going to go for a drive.”
“Where to?” they asked.
“To my house. We are going to get some food and some medicine and then we are going to come back here and help your mamm. Okay?”
Emma helped Adam and Hannah find their shoes, then loaded them into the buggy and drove to her house. Bringing them into the kitchen, her mother looked at Emma and then back at the children.
“Emma, who are these sweet kinner?”
“Mamm, we need to help them. They are Adam and Hannah Lapp. Do you know the family?”
Thinking for a moment, her mother said, “Jah, I remember a Kate Lapp from a while back. Her husband died a few years ago. I didn’t know her personally, but I would see her from time to time in town, and occasionally at church. I haven’t seen her for a while so I just assumed she moved away.”
Emma shook her head. “Well, she didn’t move away. She is still living here and these are her kinner. Mamm, she is very ill and the children have been neglected for I don’t know how long.” Emma settled the children at the kitchen table. “I need to help them. I can’t let them live like this any longer.”
Looking at the children, Marta said, “well, first thing I am going to do is draw some water for baths and find some clean clothes for them to wear. I kept by bruder’s clothes in one of the chests upstairs. I think there’s still some from when he was young. And I still have some of you girls’ dresses that might fit Hannah.”
“Thank you, Mamm. I’m going to go to town quickly and pick up a few groceries to prepare a hot meal for them. Their mamm looks like she hasn’t eaten in awhile.”
“Gut. I can ask Beth to come in from the field and go with you if you’d like.”
* * *
Driving back to the Lapp house, Emma looked over at Adam and Hannah. It was amazing how different they looked with their hair combed and clean clothes on. They walked into the kitchen, and Emma put the box of groceries down on the kitchen table and went up to check on the children’s mother. She had woken up and looked at Emma with fear in her eyes.
“Who are you? Where are my children?” she cried.
“My name is Emma Miller. I’m the new school teacher. Adam and Hannah are just fine,” she said as she went to sit on the side of the bed. “I drove them home because they came to school without any shoes today and I was concerned. I am going to go down and make a nice hot soup and tidy up your kitchen, then a give you a sponge bath and clean you up a bit.”
“Gott smiles down on you, my dear. My name is Kate. I really don’t like asking for help, but I am truly glad you are here,” Kate said starting to cry. “I’ve not been well since my husband died and I have tried so hard to keep up the house and make sure the kinner are cared for, but lately I’ve just become too weak.”
“We’ll get you back on your feet, Kate,” she said as Adam and Hannah came into the bedroom and climbed into bed with their mamm. The one thing that Emma was sure of was there was no lack of love between Kate and her children, just an unfortunate circumstance.
Once down in the kitchen, Emma heard a knock on the door. Rebecca and Beth came in carrying a few more things that their mother had sent over. Emma could tell that Rebecca and Beth were shocked by the state of the house.
“I know— it’s in quite disarray, but the kinner’s mamm is not well. I thank Gott for guiding me here. He knows what cou
ld have happened.”
Rolling up her sleeves, Rebecca looked at Beth, then said to Emma, “Let’s get this house back in order. It’s the proper thing to do and what Gott would want.”
Emma gave each of her sisters a hug. “Gott has given me two of the best shveshtahs ever. Danke.”
Two hours later, the house was sparkling and a big pot of hearty soup was simmering on the stove. After Rebecca and Beth had gone home, Emma went upstairs and gave Kate a sponge bath and put fresh sheets on her bed as well as the children’s beds.
Driving home that evening, Emma had a definite sense of fulfillment. She was going to take care of this precious family. She was also going to ask the community to help. The house was in need of repairs and she was certain that this was the path that Gott would want her to follow.
* * *
Chapter 5
The rest of the weekend was spent making meals for Kate and her children. Emma had made arrangements with the community to send workers over to do some repairs on the house, clean out the garden and cut the grass, as well as deliver ice on a weekly basis so the icebox could be used.
On Sunday evening Emma went to go check on Kate. She was worried about her because she didn’t seem to be getting better. In fact, she seemed weaker, despite the fact that Emma had been feeding her and giving her plenty of liquids.
“Kate, have you been checked by the doctor since you’ve started feeling ill?”
“Nee, I can’t afford the expense. I am sure it is just the flu,” Kate said very weakly.
“I am going to have Doctor Harrison come and take a look at you. You need to get better for your kinner.”
She tucked the children into bed and set out clothes for them to wear the next morning to school and made sure they had their shoes. Giving them each a kiss, she promised to pick them up on her way to school so they didn’t have to walk.
On the way home, she stopped by the doctor’s house and explained the situation to him.
“No worries, Emma. I’ll drive over tomorrow and take a look,” Doctor Harrison said without any hesitation. Doctor Harrison lived near town and helped out the folks in the community for almost twenty years.
The next morning, Emma stopped at the Lapp’s house to pick up the children. She made sure that they were clean and dressed and had eaten a hearty breakfast. She then made sure Kate was comfortable.
Fluffing her pillow, Emma said, “I’ve made arrangements for Doctor Harrison to come by today to take a look at you.”
“Nee, nee, Emma. I can’t afford him. I barely have any money as it is.”
“Kate, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. I just want you to get better. My mamm will also come by today to bring you some food for lunch and I have also made arrangements with some neighbors to come over and fix a few of the windows and your back door and tidy up your yard.”
“You are truly a gift from Gott, Emma. I can’t thank you enough,” she said, before breaking into a fit of coughing which left her weak and exhausted.
The morning went by very fast. The older children were learning about the United States, so Emma had given them a special exercise that would make it fun for them to learn. While they were doing that, she helped the younger children with their writing. Out of the corner of her eye she happened to see Doctor Harrison motioning her to come and see him.
She excused herself and went to the back of the classroom and closed the door so they could have some privacy.
“Emma, I went by and saw Kate. I’m afraid it doesn’t look good,” he said very grimly. “Did you know she was coughing up blood?”
“Nee, I didn’t. What does that mean?” Emma said concerned.
“Well, I have taken some blood samples but I think we are looking at lung cancer, and very advanced from the looks of it. I’ll send the samples to the hospital and have the doctors there look at them.”
“What am I going to tell those poor kinner? Their mamm is all they have left.”
* * *
The results of the blood tests came back and it didn’t look good. Emma went with the Doctor Harrison to tell Kate the news.
Closing her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks. “What is going to happen to my kinner? There is no one except my bruder, but I don’t think he would come to help.”
Emma wiped Kate’s forehead. “I will write him and I promise you that I will take care of your kinner if he can’t. I promise to you and Gott.” Emma started to cry. “I will make sure Adam and Hannah are well cared for and loved.”
Three weeks later, surrounded by her children, Emma, and her mother, Kate went to meet God in the next life. Emma had written to Kate’s brother, but had not received a reply as of yet.
The community had made all the arrangements for the funeral and Emma’s family had prepared a small reception afterwards at their house.
“What are your plans for the kinner, dear?” Her mother, Marta, asked looking over at the children sitting solemnly in the corner of the room. “I think I will move into their house so I can care for them, at least until their uncle arrives. You have enough to do here with Daed so it wouldn’t be fair to bring them here.”
Her mother hugged her. “You have a very gut heart, Emma. Gott is so proud of you. We will make this work for the sake of those two sweet kinner.”
* * *
A week later, after having settled into the Lapp home, Emma still had not heard anything from Kate’s brother, Joseph. Emma wondered if he even received the letter she sent. From what she could find out, Joseph was single and ran a farm in Ohio. He was the only living relative, so the children would become his responsibility.
Tucking the children into bed that night, Adam asked, “why did Gott take our mamm, Emma?”
Emma smiled. “Gott had special plans for your mamm but she was also very sick, so Gott took her to make her better.”
“What’s going to happen to me and Hannah? Are you going to be our new mamm?”
“Nee, Adam, I am not going to be your new mamm, but I am going to take care of you until your Onkel Joseph comes,” she said, pulling the blankets up. “I will make sure you are okay, both you and your shveshtah. Now go to sleep. I have something special planned for us tomorrow and you need your rest.”
Smiling, Emma went into the kitchen. Tomorrow was Saturday and she thought she would take the children into town for lunch and some shopping and then they would go over to her family’s house for supper. Tidying up the kitchen, Emma heard a knock on the door.
“Now who could that be at this time of night?” she said out loud, walking to the door.
She opened the door and found a tall Amish man. He appeared to be a few years older than Emma and he looked like he had been travelling for many hours.
“Hello. My name is Joseph Rudder. I received a letter about my shveshtah, Kate.”
“Joseph, please come in.”
“Is my shveshtah here?”
“Well, we need to talk,” Emma said heading to the kitchen.
Following her, he sat down. “How is she doing?”
“I am afraid your shveshtah has gone to be with Gott. As I had written you, she was very sick with cancer.” She took out two cups for tea.
Tears rolled down Joseph’s face. “I knew I should have come sooner. I wasn’t able to say goodbye. She was the only family I had left.”
Emma poured the two cups of tea and sat down at the table. “How long has it been since you’ve seen your shveshtah?”
Wiping his eyes, Joseph said, “the last time I saw her was when her husband died. Where are her kinner?”
“They’re sleeping right now. I’m the teacher here in this community and I became concerned when they showed up at school with no shoes. I came to the house to find Kate sick in bed. She was very weak so I asked the doctor in town to come and check her. When the tests came back he said she didn’t have very long…I made sure she didn’t die alone and have been living here since to care for Adam and Hannah.”
“They pro
bably don’t even know who I am, they were so young the last time I saw them,” Joseph said, finishing his tea.
“Well, I would suggest a gut night’s sleep and then tomorrow you can make some decisions,” Emma said. “I can fix up the couch for you if you’d like.”
Lying in bed that night, Emma felt sad. In a small way she had hoped that Joseph would never show up. She was enjoying this new role and had become quite attached to Adam and Hannah. She dreaded the thought that Joseph might take the children back home with him.
* * *
Chapter 6
The next morning, Emma came downstairs and saw that Joseph was already up, had made a pot of coffee, and was sitting at the kitchen table.
“Gut morning, Joseph,” Emma said as she walked into the kitchen.
“Gut morning. I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and made myself at home.”
Smiling, Emma said, “that’s fine. This isn’t my house. I guess it is yours now.”
Scratching his head and frowning a bit, he said, “I guess it is, although I don’t know what I’ll do with it.”
Emma heard Adam and Hannah come down the stairs. “Adam, Hannah, gut morning! I want you to meet Joseph, your onkel.”
The children slowly walked into the kitchen. Joseph stood up to greet them. “Hello, there, kinner. You’ve really grown since the last time I saw you.”
Emma smiled. “Joseph, this is Adam and this is Hannah.”
The children just stared at Joseph. Emma noticed that Hannah’s bottom lip was quivering. She looked as though she was going to break out in tears.
“Ach, Hannah, it’s okay. Joseph is going to take care of you now. Come, I will make you some breakfast so you can sit at the table and talk to him.”
After the children were settled, she proceeded to make bacon and eggs for breakfast. As she cooked, she listened to the conversation going on behind her. Joseph was asking them questions and she could tell they were having a hard time understanding what he was saying. She looked at Joseph and asked, “have you had much experience around young children?”
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